Car-door



W. SLEEPER.

CAR DOOR.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 21. 1918.

7? for; J/ef/z er Patented May 27, 1919.

J7me Mia/1w I I w WILBUR SLEEPER, OF BROWERVILLE, MINNESOTA.

CAR-DOOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 27, 1919.

Application filed June 27, 1918. Serial No. 242,214.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, l/VILBUP. SLEEPER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Browerville, in the county of Todd and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Car-Doors, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in door closures and more particularly to box car closures and more particularly to that type known at grain-car doors used specifically in the shipment of grain as a barricade across the door opening to receive the side pressure of the grain so as to leave the usual sliding door of box cars free to be easily opened and closed.

An object of the invention is to provide a closure which may be quickly made up of 7 ordinary boards, the holding means for the boards having no removable parts.

A further object of the invention is to provide a closure device having no parts projecting into the main space of the car to be engaged and broken by sliding merchandise (when the car is so used) due to shocks received during travel.

The invention consists in the construction, combination and arrangement of parts shown in the drawings and hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawings,

Figure 1 is a perspective fragmentary view of a car door opening viewed from within the car, showing the invention,

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of one of the slotted facing-plates,

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary front view of the top of the facing-plates,

Fig. t is a sectional view on a transverse line cutting the main shank of the facingplates,

Figs. 5 and 6 are perspective views of the sliding hooks and Fig. 7 is a fragmentary perspective view of one of the closure boards.-

In the drawings, A represents the frame work surrounding the door opening of a railroad car, and B are the jamb members thereof.

Suitably secured on the inner face of the Jamb members as by means of screws 2 and extending preferably from the floor of the car to the lintel over the door opening. are the slotted uprights or facing plates 3.

The facing plates are formed with a longitudinal central slot 4 preferably piercing the bat-ten and extending approximately throughout its length, said slot being formed at its upper extremity with a plurality of tributary slots 5 preferably symmetrically disposed on either side of said main slot and projecting downwardly and parallel thereto. The slots are formed in the main of uniform width except the curved portions 6 which are a trifle wider for a purpose hereinafter explained.

The faces of the walls of the slots are parallel for a portion of their width and then flare outwardly to form a dove tail space at the bottom of the slots. \Vorking in the dove tailed slots are the hooks or bolts 7 and 8 comprising an outwardly project.

ing shank 9 loosely and slidably fitting between the parallel walls of the slots, and a dove tail 10 loosely fitting into the dove tailed space of the slots.

The outer ends of the shanks 9 are formed with a transverse bar forming the double hook 7 or the single hook 8. These hooks or bolts may be slid in the slots including the tributaries 5 so that when not in use they may be lodged in the tributaries at the top of the car, out of the way of merchandise when the car is used for general shipping.

To allow the hooks (Fig. 3) to pass freely through the curved portions 6 of the slots, the latter are made a trifle wider as above stated.

The horizontal sections 11 (Fig. 7 for closing the door opening have adjacent their corners in their long edges, a rectangular notch 12, a cleat 13 being flush with the inner vertical wall thereof, said notch being adapted to loosely embrace the shank of the hooks or bolts 7 and 8. Thus each section is independently held in position by the bolts.

In use, the sections are set up edge to edge, one above the other (Fig. 1) a pair of single hooks, upturned resting upon the floor. A section is then set with its notches over the hooks, double hooks 7 being then slid down into the notches in its upper edge, the cleats and notches controlling the deal against end movement. A second section is then added, the down turned single hooks being slid from their stored positions in the slots 5 down the main slot into the notches of thelast added section, the notches of the sections being in registering relation.

The sections may be of any Width and number, a sufiicient number of hooks always being stored in the tributary slots.

I claim:

1. The combination With a'door frame, of a closure formed of independent horizontal sections, one above the other and extending over the face of said frame, and fastening devices for said sections independently slidable, vertically on the face of said door frame to engage. the! edges of said sections for the purpose specified.

2. The combination with a door frame, of a closure formed of independent horizontal sections, one above the other extending over the face of the door frame and having notches in their horizontal edges, and fastening means vertically slidable, on the face of the door frame and independent of said sections, but adapted to be slid into said notches for the purpose set forth.

3. The combination with a door frame, of a closure' formed of independent horizontal sections, one above the other, notches in registering relationiin said sections when said sections are assembled and slidable fastening means on said frame to engage the registering notches between adjacent sections as they are assembled for'the purpose specified. I

4:- The combination With a door frame,

-a closure formed of a plurality of remov able horizontal sections, slidable holding devices on said frame for holding said sections and -means on said frame for slidably holding-said'holding devices towslide them upwardly to the top ofsaid frame away from. said sections to remove the latter and for holding said devices at the topof said frame'for the purpose specified.

5. The combination with a door frame, a closure therefor, and closure holding means on said frame, comprising slotted uprights having a main and tributary slots and hooks slidably held in said slots for the purpose specified.

In testimony whereof I afliX my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

' VVILBUR SLEEPER. .lVitnesses RAYMOND A. LEE,

EDNA 'B. GIBBS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each; by addressing the Commissioner of'latents,

' Washington, I). G. 

